Uncontested, Unarguable
by Bimadabomi
Summary: He'd promised her she would believe one day.


It wasn't often that their jobs separated them and took them to different locations - but at times the fact that Booth was an agent and Brennan wasn't and was, in fact, a scientist with a job at the Jeffersonian Institute came into play. Murder and decomposed corpses seemed far too common for anyone's liking, so it was rare – but it happened.

For the first time either of them could remember in a long time, Booth was sent to help in an investigation in Northern Virginia. The agent on the job was out a partner after his partner ended up with pneumonia after he took part in a stakeout and pursuit in a brutal rainstorm while he had a nasty cold.

Agent Gleason was a fine guy. Booth had no problem working with him. He was a decent, respectful, stand-up man with a love for sports and a good sense of humor. But he couldn't deny that he'd much rather be partners with the frustrating, confusing, awkward yet endearing Dr. Brennan.

The case hadn't been too complicated and had been wrapped up quickly after they set their sights on a suspect; the young girl immediately caved and confessed all the second she was in custody. It was late when he returned to DC and he mulled the possibilities for his first stop in his head. It was late – most people at the Jeffersonian would be home for the night – except for, he was certain, his partner.

And he was right. He found her sitting on the couch in her office staring down intently at something that captured all of her attention. He stepped inside, but his presence went unnoticed even as he approached the back of the couch.

"Take off your clothes and no one will get hurt," he whispered into her ear, causing her to jump and gasp, the unexpected voice catching her off guard, but its familiarity quickly registering and causing her to relax.

"God, Booth!" she stood, holding her hand to her heart. "You nearly made me creep out of my skin."

He laughed heartily and moved around the couch to stand in front of her. "Jump, Baby," he said, rubbing her arms in apology for scaring her. "You nearly made me Ijump/I out of my skin."

"Oh," she said with a little laugh. She relaxed and was able to appreciate the fact that Booth was back. She gave him a warm smile and added, "You're home early. I thought you were coming home tomorrow?"

"The girl totally broke and confessed all when we got her in custody so I booked it right outta there."

Deciding that that was enough with the pleasantries, Brennan smiled and moved to slide her arms around his waist and leaned in to give him a welcome back kiss. He immediately responded and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

"I missed you," she told him in a sigh between kisses.

And it was true. She was a little annoyed with herself for _how much_ she missed him. She was independent. She didn't need a Iguy/I at all times to feel complete. She could be happy with her alone time – she always had been. Yet Angela had accused her of moping (to which she would swear until she was blue in the face that she was not – maybe she was just a little bored) around the lab, and she had felt a little off of sorts all week.

She found herself doing things like cooking dinner one night and making too much food, forgetting that Booth wouldn't be coming over for dinner or scrounging for leftovers the next day. She couldn't even enjoy the time she had to catch up on reading; she suddenly found it hard to concentrate on her anthropology journals without the TV on in the background blaring some sporting event or a bored someone trying to get her attention – trying to teach her about sports, constantly chattering, letting his idle hands wander up her shirt when he really wanted her attention. He was a constant distraction sometimes and God help her, instead of enjoying four days with a lack of interruptions, she _missed_ them.

"I missed you too," Booth replied when they finally parted for air. He swayed her gently in his arms. "Agent Gelson's a pretty good guy, nothing to complain about. But he's got nothin' on you, Babe."

Brennan laughed freely, feeling decidedly happy that Booth was back in DC, and earlier than expected. She felt light and free and like everything was as it should be again. When had she become this person?

"I should hope not," she teased, enjoying the feel of his arms around her. She felt safe and secure and yes, she could take care of herself, but sometimes, she realized, sometimes it was nice to not have to.

"He doesn't have the sexy labcoat, either."

At this, she burst out laughing and raised her eyebrows. "Sexy, huh?"

"Mmhmm," he said, unable to resist the urge and leaned down to give her a quick, sweet kiss. "I brought you something," he added, finally releasing her and reaching for his coat pocket.

"You brought me something from Northern Virginia?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at her partner, curious.

"Yes," he dug around in the pocket of his jacket.

"It's not like it was a vacation, Booth. You were there for work. How could you have possibly had the time to go shopping?"

"I didn't go shopping," he informed her. "I just stumbled across this and I thought of you. Here." He held out his hand to her and she gave him her and she responded by holding out her own. In it, he placed a tiny little rubber skeleton that held a flag that proclaimed, "Virginia!"

She laughed. This man could get to her like no one else could. He could bring her stupid little toys and she would be touched. What did that mean? What did it mean that objects she would have previously thought to be ridiculous and useless and nothing but clutter were now keepsakes that made her smile?

These feelings… she'd had them for a long time now. She'd struggled with them before they were together. She'd had these feelings since the moment they decided to give this relationship a try – but because Booth was Booth there had been no pressure. _We'll go slowly, _he had promised her, and she had been grateful for that. Although she knew deep in her heart what she felt she hadn't been anywhere near ready to admit it, to commit to it. Once it was out there it was out and there was no taking it back. And in the time they had been together, she'd been surprised at how quickly the feelings had intensified. She wasn't delusional – he really made her happy. He really made her laugh, he really made her feel special. He made her feel confident about herself and he made her feel safe and protected and treasured. Without a doubt she knew he would never turn his back on her – never leave her like so many others had, never let anything hurt her. And it was irrational. It was completely irrational to know this, to believe in this, to have this _faith_ because there was no way she could logically know this to be certain. Hodgins had told her, Cam had told her – she has faith in Booth. And she tried to explain to them that it's not faith – it's based on past experiences. But no matter what had happened in the past, there was no accounting for conditions in the future. She couldn't logically know, for sure, that Booth would never turn his back on her, that he would never leave her or always be there to stop any harm from coming her way.

And yet, _she knew_. It was transcendent and eternal and she honestly believed in it, in him, in them.

"I love you," she told him, voice soft and nervous but full of confidence. He pulled back from her for a moment to study her face, to be sure he had just heard what he thought he had heard. The grin that she bestowed upon him answered his question: he'd heard right, all right.

"I love you too," he replied softly, not missing a beat despite his surprise. "I- so much, Bones. So much," he added, and she grinned at him, feeling even more light and free and happy than she had moments earlier. She moved her arms to his neck and pulled him down to her for a kiss, kissing him hard and full of passion and she never wanted to stop.

It was uncontested, unarguable. Force equals mass times acceleration. Every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force that is directly proportional to the product of the masses of the particles and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Temperance Brennan is in love with Seeley Booth.

It had been here, all along, all those years – she'd started to lose herself in Seeley Booth years ago.

"Listen to me," he said softly, but seriously. "I'm not going to let you down," he promised her. She looked up into his eyes. He knew – he knew how much it took for her to be able to tell him she loved him. "I know. I know people, people who were supposed to be obligated to love you, care for you, help you…" Her parents. Russ. The foster families she had been sent to. "… have let you down. I'm not going to. I love you, that's never going to change."

_You can't know that.  
Everything changes.  
You can't know how you're going to feel about someone for the rest of your life._

All the familiar catchphrases were in the back of her mind. But at the front, there was something else.

Hodgins. _You have a lot of faith in Booth._  
_You trust Booth because of what you feel._ Cam. _And faith in the future._

She studied him for a long, long moment, looking into his eyes intensely. Finally, she nodded.

"I know," she said in a whisper, before wrapping him tightly in a hug.

He'd promised her she would believe one day - and he'd never made her a promise he didn't keep.


End file.
